Ted says of toilets, "For 2000 years people have been using these porcelain thrones". While toilets that use running water to carry away effluvium have been around for over 4000 years, the porcelain flush toilet was developed in the mid 1800s by T. W. Twyford. Thomas Crapper did not invent the toilet or hold any patents, but by the late 1800s he had manufactured so many toilets that his name became closely associated with them and their use.